Jack Swarbrick, University of Notre Dame, University VP, and James E. Rohr Director of Athletics

Jack Swarbrick, a University of Notre Dame graduate now in his 10th year in 2017-18 as vice president and director of athletics at his alma mater, has attached his signature to a variety of new initiatives during his tenure. These initiatives include launching Fighting Irish Media – a major enterprise that delivers better information about and access to Notre Dame and its athletic programs via expanded production and distribution of programming; developing the Campus Crossroads Project in 2013, which made Notre Dame Stadium a year-round asset for the University by adding new structures to three sides of the football facility—creating new homes for student activities and recreation, career services, digital media, as well as academic disciplines anthropology, psychology, music, and sacred music; building student-athlete programs to develop leadership skills, increase community service, and provide mentoring and career services resources; meeting the performance needs of Notre Dame student-athletes through establishment of a sports performance division that supports and improves athletic performance through the application of science, medicine, and technology; and working to create systems and structures to maximize the impact of technical expertise, environments, technology, and service delivery on an athlete’s ability to optimize performance.

Over the past five years, Swarbrick played a major role in five significant announcements that positively impacted Notre Dame on the national collegiate scene: the 2016 launch of the ACC Network; membership for Notre Dame’s men’s ice hockey program in the Big Ten Conference that will begin with the 2017-18 season; membership for Notre Dame’s athletic teams (other than football and hockey) in the Atlantic Coast Conference that began with the 2013-14 athletic seasons; an extension of the University’s relationship with NBC Sports through the 2025 football season; the 2014 announcement of an unmatched 10-year relationship with Under Armour that provides performance footwear, apparel, and equipment for Irish athletic programs; and creation by the Bowl Championship Series of the four-team College Football Playoff, which started with the 2014 season, with Notre Dame maintaining viable access into that system.

Swarbrick’s first nine years also featured a variety of on-and off-the-field Notre Dame athletics successes including:

• The best across-the-board athletic season in Notre Dame history in 2013-14, as Irish men’s programs claimed the Capital One Cup and 22 of 26 sports overall advanced to postseason play, enabling Notre Dame to finish third in the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics all-sports standings.
• Number-one rankings for Notre Dame (among Football Bowl Subdivision schools) in the 10 most recent NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) surveys—in 2016 at 98 for all-student-athletes. The Irish football program has ranked number one in those listings three of the last six years.
• An appearance in the Bowl Championship Series football title game following the 2012 season—an unprecedented year in which the Irish finished the regular season 12-0 to rank number one in the final BCS poll while also ranking number one in the GSR standings.
• NCAA championships in 2017 in fencing (a men’s and women’s combined championship), 2013 in men’s soccer, 2011 in fencing (a men’s and women’s combined championship) and 2010 in women’s soccer.
• NCAA runner-up team finishes in 2015, 2014, 2012 and 2011 in women’s basketball, 2014 and 2010 in men’s lacrosse, 2013 and 2009 in fencing, and 2008 in women’s soccer.
• NCAA semifinal appearances in women’s basketball in 2013, men’s lacrosse in 2012 and 2015, hockey in 2011 and 2017, women’s tennis in 2009 and 2010, and women’s soccer in 2009, plus 2010, 2012 and 2015 third-place fencing finishes.
• Only men’s basketball program in the nation to register NCAA Elite Eight appearances in 2015 and 2016
• Individual NCAA championships in 2017 by Lee Kiefer (fencing-women’s foil), Francesca Russo (fencing-women’s sabre); 2016 by Molly Seidel (indoor track and field-3,000 meters, 5,000 meters); 2015 by Lee Kiefer (fencing-foil), Francesca Russo (fencing-women’s sabre) and Molly Seidel (cross country; track and field-10,000 meters); 2014 by Gerek Meinhardt (fencing-foil), Lee Kiefer (fencing-foil) and Emma Reaney (women’s swimming-200 yard breaststroke); 2013 by Courtney Hurley (fencing-epee) and Lee Kiefer (fencing-foil); 2012 by Randall Babb (track and field-distance medley relay), Chris Giesting (track and field-distance medley relay), Jeremy Rae (track and field-distance medley relay) and Johnathan Shawel (track and field-distance medley relay); 2011 by Ariel DeSmet (fencing-foil) and Courtney Hurley (fencing-epee); and 2010 by Gerek Meinhardt (fencing-foil).
• 311 All-America selections and 54 Academic All-America honorees.

Born in Yonkers, New York, and raised in Yonkers and Bloomington, Indiana, Swarbrick is a 1976 magna cum laude graduate of Notre Dame, with a bachelor’s degree in economics. Upon graduating from Stanford University Law School in 1980, he returned to Indiana to accept a position as an associate in the Indianapolis law firm Baker & Daniels. He was made partner in 1987 and spent 28 years with the firm. Swarbrick became Notre Dame’s 12th athletics director on July 16, 2008.

He and his wife, Kimberly, are the parents of four children: Kate, a 2010 graduate of Saint Louis University; Connor, a 2011 graduate of Wake Forest University; Cal, a 2014 graduate of TCU; and Christopher, a 2015 graduate of Notre Dame.

Brent Angle, CineSys-Oceana, CTO

Current CTO Brent Angle helped form CineSys-Oceana with the goal of focusing on strong engineering services and consulting to support broadcast, post-production, VFX, animation, and film customers. That has remained the focus of the company to this day.

Angle currently manages a team that includes engineering support staff and data system integrators, as well as custom engineering design and software development. He realized early on that the ever-changing standards and formats of manufacturers would create a demand for a higher level of expertise in the implementation of infrastructure to support the networking, workflow, storage, and archiving of massive digital files. He knew it would be an important part of the industry’s future and thus began a focused effort to build relationships and partnerships with the key partners and vendors that influence this business sector.

Paco Bayer, University of Notre Dame, Operations Manager, Joyce Center

Paco Bayer has worked in AV most of his life. In his career, he has held such varied positions working at TV stations, producing radio programs, and on staff at a megachurch. For the past 11 years, Bayer has worked for Notre Dame overseeing audio, visual, and lighting systems for athletic venues. This time at the university has included everything from managing small locker room systems, the basketball arena AV systems, and the football stadium where he has worked intensely for the past two years on game day AV systems and IPTV systems.

Bayer recently transitioned to operations manager of the Joyce Center, the central hub for Notre Dame Athletics.

Mike Bonner, Fighting Irish Media, Executive Producer, Live Events

David Clack, CatDV, CEO

David Clack leads Square Box Systems, makers of CatDV Media Asset Management products, helping creative professionals make incredible video and audio content, optimize media workflows, and manage the exploding demand for high-quality video content. CatDV enables creative teams to manage the huge volume of video, audio, graphics, images, and documents involved in program making today. It streamlines the process of planning, shooting, post-production, and distribution of compelling media content.

CatDV is used by a huge range of customers globally, from traditional broadcasters and production houses, across sports, education, non-profit, advertising, and corporate sectors. Clack particularly enjoys working with customers, designing media workflows, and transforming video production processes in a rapidly changing industry.

Clack and the team are honored to be the power behind many household names, once-in-a-lifetime events, and major TV and film projects.

Brendan Cline, BeckTV, System Engineer and Project Manager

Brendan Cline is a lead engineer and project manager for Beck. He is the primary client contact throughout all of his projects. This role includes consulting and coordinating with the project team on facility design and extends to being in charge of broadcast system design, project management, equipment specification, documentation, on-site supervision, and commissioning.

Cline started engineering work in broadcast television twelve years ago when he was hired by a local TV station in need of an engineer to build a new automated HD master control. Two years later, he moved that station across town into a new building. After a couple of years, the desire to continue his involvement in the design and install of broadcast projects led Cline to leave his hometown and take a job with a systems integration company as an engineer in the Washington D.C. area. In Washington, Cline became a lead engineer on numerous builds including stadiums, broadcast facilities, and corporate AV operation centers.

Cline joined Beck three years ago and has already led multiple TV and sports projects to completion. This includes two brand new TV station facility moves in Anchorage and Seattle, a professional baseball ballpark, and the innovative campus production center for Notre Dame in South Bend, IN.

Jason Dachman, SVG, Chief Editor

Jason Dachman oversees all aspects of SVG’s North American editorial operations, including the thrice-weekly SVG Insider newsletter and SVG’s annual print publications. A member of the SVG team since 2009, Dachman also serves as program director for SVG’s Sports Content Management & Storage (SCMS) Forum, Sports Graphics Forum, and TranSPORT event. Prior to joining SVG, he spent three years covering local sports for The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, MA, and spent two years on the production staff of SiriusXM Satellite Radio’s The Ron & Fez Show. Dachman began his career in the Sports Information Department at Northeastern University in Boston, where he also earned a B.A. in media communications and cinema studies. A native of Denver, CO, Dachman currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.

Martin Dyster, Telos Alliance, VP, Business Development

Martin Dyster has worked in the TV broadcast and professional audio industry for over 30 years since joining former broadcast intercom leaders Philip Drake Electronics as a test engineer in 1987. He has spent most of his career in broadcast systems integration, heading up the audio and communications design team at TSL Systems. He has also worked on some of the world’s highest-profile TV broadcast infrastructure projects, later leading the TSL Products audio business during a period of sustained growth.

Dyster joined audio-over-IP leaders The Telos Alliance in fall 2014, bringing his experience in both systems integration and product management to the role of VP of business development for the Telos’ TV Solutions Group. Responsible for establishing the wider credentials of The Telos Alliance within television broadcast, Dyster works closely with both commercial and technical operations teams to help develop strategy in both business strands.

Ken Kerschbaumer, SVG, Executive Director, Editorial

Ken Kerschbaumer is executive director of editorial services for the Sports Video Group and SVG Europe. He was a co-founder of SVG along with Paul Gallo and Marty Porter in 2005 and has been writing about how sports networks and leagues use video and audio technology to deliver a quality TV experience since 1991. Kerschbaumer began his career in 1991 at Television Broadcast magazine before joining Cahners where he was founding editor of Digital Broadcasting magazine. In 2000, he joined Broadcasting & Cable magazine as senior editor of technology where he covered all aspects of broadcasting, cable, and Internet content creation and distribution.

Ron Kraemer, University of Notre Dame, VP, Information Technology/Chief Information and Digital Officer

Ronald Kraemer was appointed vice president and chief information officer at the University of Notre Dame in August, 2010. Kraemer was asked to take on the additional responsibility of serving as Notre Dame’s chief digital officer in 2013.

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Kraemer earned a master’s degree from the University of Tennessee, where his research concerned geographical information systems.

Before joining the University of Notre Dame, Kraemer served as vice provost and chief information officer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Kraemer also served as a program manager at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee overseeing information technology operations and research initiatives, as well as developing the system used to plan and schedule all airlift activities for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm during the 1990-91 war in Iraq. He also worked as the associate director of the Energy, Environment and Resources Center at the University of Tennessee and spent several years as a senior systems analyst at Lockheed Missiles and Space Company in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

As vice president and chief information and digital officer, Kraemer leads all aspects of Notre Dame’s Office of Information Technologies, including a staff of more than 250. He oversees an information technology (IT) infrastructure that supports the entire campus community, development of enterprise systems that underlie many of the University’s teaching, learning, research, engagement and business activities, and an establishment of a governance structure to plan for future IT service needs across campus.

Nima Malekmanesh, Evertz, Product Marketing Manager and Senior Engineer – DreamCatcher

Nima Malekmanesh has been with Evertz since 2001 and is one of the lead software engineers who developed DreamCatcher. Malekmanesh oversees DreamCatcher marketing, sales, and service worldwide. He also contributes to product direction and development.

Doug Marsh, University of Notre Dame, VP, Facilities Design and Operations/ University Architect

As vice president for facilities design and operations and university architect, Doug Marsh has been responsible for leading the University in the successful planning, design, and construction of nearly $2 billion of new facilities, renovation, maintenance, and utilities projects during his 22 year career at Notre Dame. He has lead the design and construction of more than 40 new campus buildings totaling over 4 million square feet and the renovation of scores of facilities during his tenure. Marsh is also responsible for Notre Dame’s Utilities and Maintenance team that provides facilities operation services to more than 170 buildings covering 10 million square feet. Facilities Design and Operations also hosts the University Facilities Information team whose responsibilities encompass the tracking of facilities use data.

Marsh, a native of South Bend, received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1982 and worked in private practice prior to joining the University’s staff in 1995.

Ric Mauch, RCDD, University of Notre Dame, Manager of Voice and Data Services, OIT Infrastructure Department

Brock Raum, Fighting Irish Media, Supervising Producer, Live Events

Brock Raum is currently the supervising producer of live events for the University of Notre Dame Athletics Department. He helps oversee all aspects of live production with a primary focus on the football video board show. Raum is responsible for producing content, directing on gameday, and executing the technical build of the video board show.

Scott Rinehart, University of Notre Dame, Director, Broadcast Technology

Scott Rinehart is the director of broadcast technology for the University of Notre Dame, responsible for providing technical direction and oversight of Notre Dame Studios’ production infrastructure.

Prior to coming to Notre Dame, Rinehart worked in a variety of roles at NASCAR Media Group and PGA Tour Productions.

In 2013, Notre Dame won the inaugural SVG/NACDA Technology Leadership Award.

A native of Jacksonville, FL, Rinehart is a 1984 graduate of the University of Alabama, with a bachelor of arts degree in communications. While in school, he served as a student trainer under legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. Rinehart and his wife, Karen, reside in South Bend.

Rick Seegull, Riedel, Manager System Consulting

Rick Seegull, manager of Riedel’s System Consulting team, is responsible for managing and coordinating the design of the company’s comprehensive products in broadcast facilities throughout North America. He also develops the companies product training programs, and represents Riedel North America on industry panels.

In his 25-year career prior to joining Riedel, Seegull managed and created both startup divisions and departments involved in all aspects of the product chain, from concept and design to manufacturing, marketing, and sales. Seegull has served as SVP of sales and marketing for Aurora Multimedia, director of business development for A/V control and automation company Xantech Corporation, and product engineering manager at Otari MFG. Seegull graduated from the Polytechnic University of New York with a B.S. degree in electrical engineering.

Dan Skendzel, University of Notre Dame, Executive Director, Notre Dame Studios

Dan Skendzel is currently the executive director of Notre Dame Studios at the University of Notre Dame.

Previously, he oversaw Fighting Irish Media (FIM) and athletic department branding. He was responsible for the strategy to grow FIM’s ability to tell Notre Dame’s story through the lens of athletics. In May 2015, Fighting Irish Digital Media and Athletics Media Relations merged to form Fighting Irish Media. FIM is comprised of athletics communications, football media relations, video production, digital distribution, brand management, and broadcast technology.

Skendzel has worked at Notre Dame in a number of roles for the past 14 years. Prior to launching Fighting Irish Digital Media in 2011, Skendzel participated in the rotational program on campus which consisted of projects in human resources, athletics, and the General Counsel’s Office over a two year span. Before then, he worked in the Business Operations Office overseeing administrative services, which consisted of risk management and safety, warehouse and delivery, transportation, aviation, and remote campus operations.

Prior to coming to the University, Skendzel worked at Dynamis Solutions as an e-commerce consultant and at Proctor & Gamble as a plant accounting manager. Skendzel also worked for three years at Sherwin-Williams in their sales department. Skendzel is a Notre Dame graduate, having received his BA in 1991 in american studies, and his MBA in 1998 in finance.

Vince Silvestri, Evertz, VP, Software Systems

Vince Silvestri joined Evertz as an intern in 2000 before starting full-time in 2002. Prior to becoming the VP of software systems, Silvestri acted as the director of advanced software. Silvestri received a Bachelor of Computer Science from McMaster University in 2002.

Kevin Strite, University of Notre Dame, Project Manager, Office of Information Technologies

Kevin Strite is an IT project manager for the University of Notre Dame. He has been part of the Office of Information Technologies for the past five years. Prior to that he was a project manager for a financial services company for almost twelve years.

During his time at Notre Dame, Strite’s highlights have included assisting with Fighting Irish Media’s initial media center, leading the technology effort for Notre Dame’s Rome Global Gateway, and most recently leading the IT portion of the Campus Crossroads and stadium renovation efforts.

Strite has his M.B.A. from James Madison University and holds his project management professional designation from the Project Management Institute.

Hossein ZiaShakeri, Spectra Logic, SVP, Business Development and Alliances

A key associate since 1984 and the former vice president of advanced engineering, Hossein ZiaShakeri is responsible for Spectra Logic’s business development and strategic alliances. ZiaShakeri is also a member of the company’s technology leadership team to maintain the company’s leadership position in product innovation and business success. ZiaShakeri has more than 30 years of experience in design, engineering, and management of storage subsystems.